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Exclusive: A Radical Act: Renee Montgomery, a feature documentary about the life and career of WNBA legend Renee Montgomery from exec producers LeBron James and Maverick Carter will open this year’s Micheaux Film Festival.

Launched by Courtney L. Branch and Noel Braham to honor the legendary Oscar Micheaux, the Micheaux Film Festival celebrates its sixth anniversary this year. The event will run from October 21 to October 27 at the Culver Theater.

A Radical Act: Renee Montgomery is directed by Emmy Award winner Sandrine Orabona. Described as an “intimate portrait,” the film chronicles the life and achievements of Montgomery, the first former WNBA player to serve as both a co-owner and executive of a WNBA team. A two-time WNBA Champion, sports broadcaster, and activist, Montgomery currently holds the position of co-owner and vice president of the Atlanta Dream. The film explores Montgomery’s journey, from her upbringing in West Virginia to...

Exclusive: LA’s Micheaux Film Festival will officially run at The Culver Theater in Culver City from October 21 to October 27 with a selection of short and feature projects with talent such as Viola Davis and Morris Chestnut. Scroll down to see the featured lineup.

The festival, launched by Courtney L. Branch and Noel Braham to honor the legendary Oscar Micheaux, celebrates its sixth anniversary this year. The festival’s theme will be Champions, a celebration of “the resilience and determination of filmmakers who overcome countless obstacles to bring their visions to life.”

This year’s lineup includes more than 250 short films, feature films, and new media series with additional projects screening virtually. Titles include The Ebony Canal, a 46-minute feature on Black infant mortality rates narrated by Viola Davis. Also screening is The Origin, a project produced by Morris Chestnut, and Tea, a short project from filmmaker Blake Winston Rice featuring Michael Gandolfini.

Mitchell Hoog, who will play Zack Morris’ son Mac in Peacock’s Saved by the Bell reboot, will star in After Masks, a 5-part anthology film written and directed by the actors themselves while under the stay at home order. Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight), Robert Picardo (Star Trek: Voyager), Stefanie Estes (Amazon’s Tales from the Loop), Frances Lee Mccain (Back to the Future), Michael Welch (Twilight franchise), Lily Keene (HBO’s Deadwood), Krista Allen (Liar Liar), Alexandra Rodriguez (Hulu’s East Los High), Carlena Britch (CBS All Access’ The Twilight Zone), Nicole Thompson, and Debra Wilson (MadTV) will also star. Brian McCulley and John Crockett of Aec Studios producing. The stories will focus on many of the relatable issues we are all dealing with while on quarantine during the Covid-19 pandemic such as isolation, uncertainty, fear, substance abuse, and self-discovery. The segments, while standalone, will take place during the same time period,...

Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, who was recently seen in the Sundance film, Farewell Amor, is set to write, direct, and produce a feature-length documentary about Ugandan studio photographer Kibaate Aloysius Ssalongo. Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh is attached as an executive producer. Soderbergh and Ntare worked together on the Cinemax series, The Knick. Ntare, who is perhaps best known as one of the stars of Showtimes’ The Chi, first encountered Kibaate’s studio in 2002 driving through the Ugandan countryside doing research for his play Biro. Kibaate sadly passed away in 2006 leaving behind six wives, 36 children, and over 4000 medium format negatives and thousands of 35-millimeter prints and negatives. To carry on Kibaate’s legacy, Ntare has returned to Mbirizi and met with over 60 of his former photo subjects thus far, recreating their decades-old images by photographing the former subjects as well. “Kibaate’s artistry as a photographer and the rich history surrounding him,...

The Create the Writers Room initiative has revealed the finalists for the inaugural initiative which empowers emerging creators while advancing the dialogue of diversity and inclusion in the industry.

Created by writer and producer Rickey Castleberry of 19f Productions launched the initiative to not only promote representation of marginalized communities but to foster up and coming talent to celebrate individual voices and ideas. Creators and writers were required to submit a short three-page script and produce a one-minute short.

“This is the first of many. We want to be at the forefront of change, and give rise to new voices, which can only happen through the continued efforts of the allies we’ve formed with Create the Writer’s Room,” said Castleberry. He plans to continue these events and expand their operation in the next years with the mission to change the landscape of the industry.

On September 27, the entries...

Exclusive: Prentice Penny, who is best known as the showrunner for Insecure, and his production company A Penny For Your Thoughts is partnering with Rickey Castleberry’s 19f Productions and Chris Pollack’s Miles Media for the Create The Writers Room initiative, which looks to empower young and emerging writers while advancing the narrative to “Write in Color.”

The initiative moves the needle when it comes to Hollywood’s conversation about diversity and inclusion. It will give newcomers in the industry a platform to introduce their voice for prominent producers, writers and decision makers.

To kick things off, they have launched the “Create the Writer’s Room Challenge”. The event is now live and is a series of trials meant to inspire and help grow the work of young writers all while celebrating their individual voices and ideas. The challenge features various components, beginning with the submission of a short...

Exclusive: Kevin Pollak, known for his roles in films like A Few Good Men and Martin Scorsese’s Casino, has signed on to helm Swag (Students Without Any Game), an indie comedy film written by Rickey Castleberry and Zimran Jacob. The pic, loosly based on Castleberry’s life, follows four college sophomore social misfits who find their names on an infamous student losers list curated by the popular sorority girls. The only way off the list is with the tutelage of the Van…...